2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors | Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Dolen Perkins-Valdez

2023 PFWA

Bestselling Author, Chair of the Board of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation

Inspired by true events that shocked a nation, Take My Hand is the story of a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on the terrible injustice of government-forced sterilization inflicted on her patients who are young girls and women of color. Perkins-Valdez earned her BA from Harvard and her PhD from UCLA. She is the Chair of the Board of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and Associate Professor at American University. She lives in Washington, DC.

“Take My Hand reminds us that truly extraordinary fiction is rarely written merely to entertain.” – The Washington Post.  “This is an exceptional read.” – Library Journal. “This is the kind of story you want to build extra time into reading so you can explore the wealth of history it draws upon.” –Associated Press